mill

verb

milled; milling; mills

transitive verb

1

: to subject to an operation or process in a mill: such as

a

: to grind into flour, meal, or powder

milling wheat

b

: to remove the outer layers of (seed kernels) : to subject to hulling

milling rice to remove the husk and bran layers

c

: to shape or dress by means of a rotary cutter

d

: to mix and condition (something, such as rubber) by passing between rotating rolls

2

: to give a raised rim or a ridged or corrugated edge to (a coin)

3

: to cut grooves in the metal surface of (something, such as a knob)

intransitive verb

1

a

: to move about in a disorderly or aimless fashion

—usually used with around or about

a crowd milling around outside the theater exit

b

of cattle : to move about in a circling mass

2

: to hit out with the fists

3

: to undergo milling

seed too wet to mill properly

Synonyms of mill

• grind
• pound
• crush
• powder
• beat

Examples of mill in a Sentence

The crowd was milling outside the exit.

a demonstration of how dried kernels of corn were milled in colonial times

Recent Examples on the Web

Videos taken at the event appear to show officers pinning youth down, with one young person placed in handcuffs and young people milling around the carnival area of the annual festival. —Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 8 June 2026

On the second day of the competition, hundreds of high school students milled about in team gear as parents and mentors mingled in the stands, waving pompoms or holding banners to celebrate when student robot operators took to the field. —P.r. Lockhart, Hartford Courant, 8 June 2026

What distinguished Didion is her style, so carefully milled as to be not noticed at first. —Zinzi Clemmons, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026

The Idaho Transportation Department announced Friday that crews will begin milling and paving the interstate between the Garrity Boulevard (Nampa) and Ten Mile Road (Meridian) interchanges Tuesday night, and I-84 lane closures are set to begin Monday. —Shannon Tyler, Idaho Statesman, 6 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1511, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing mill

• ball mill
• coffee mill
• diploma mill
• gin mill
• grist for one's/the mill
• grist to one's/the mill
• hammer mill
• mill wheel
• pepper mill
• per mill
• pug mill
• puppy mill
• rolling mill
• run-of-the-mill
• stamp mill
• the rumor mill
• through the mill
• water mill

Rhymes for mill

• bill
• brill
• chill
• drill
• fil
• fill
• frill
• gill
• grill
• grille
• jill
• kill

Kids Definition

mill

1 of 3 noun

ˈmil 

1

: a building with machinery for grinding grain into flour

2

: a machine used in treating (as by grinding, crushing, stamping, cutting, or finishing) raw material

3

: factory

mill

2 of 3 verb

1

: to process in a mill (as by grinding into flour, meal, or powder or by shaping with a cutter)

2

: to give a raised rim or a grooved edge to

mill a coin

3

: to move about in a disorderly mass

people were milling about the entrance to the theater

mill

3 of 3 noun

: one tenth of a cent

Etymology

Old English mylen "mill" from Latin molina (same meaning), derived from earlier mola "mill, millstone" — related to molar see Word History at molar

from Latin mille "thousand"; so called because it is one one-thousandth of a dollar